Just when you thought your phone could do it all, it now may be able to diagnose intestinal parasites.

Researchers conducting a community-based study in the Ivory Coast have developed two handheld microscopes that can be attached to mobile phones to help diagnose intestinal parasites. Developed for use in poor and underprivileged countries, these microscopes can be an easy, cost effective method with the potential to screen the nearly two billion people infected with parasites.

"We wanted to know if we could put these portable field microscopes into the hands of individuals who would use them in day-to-day settings, and whether they would be effective. We wanted to see how they would work in real-world situations where there are few labs," said Isaac Bogoch, MD, senior author and physician in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network.

The team analyzed the commercial Newton microscope and a mobile phone-based CellScope to detect parasites in 226 individuals when compared to a conventional microscope. The Newton microscope was able to identify parasites even at the low-burden scale. While the CellScope missed some low-burden infections, a new piece to this technology is being updated to increase its sensitivity.

Even when the handheld microscopes varied in sensitivity when detecting all cases of an illness, they were able catch infections of parasites almost as well as the standard microscope. Because many of these undeveloped countries have limited access to conventional laboratory microscopes, these handheld devices have the potential to save many lives.

"It was heart-warming to see how well and easily these portable, handheld field microscopes were adopted and used in a rural setting," Bogoch said. “Accurate, portable, battery-powered microscopes which can deliver quality diagnostics to the poorest of the poor in underserviced areas can significantly ease the severe burden of infectious diseases.”